Hyperrhiz (http://hyperrhiz.io/), the peer-reviewed online journal of new media cultures, is pleased to announce an open call inviting submissions for its special issue, Blanket Forts and Other Assemblages. Submissions published in the issue will take the form of web-based interactive 3D worlds and story-based video games created using the Community Game Development Toolkit (CGDT).
The CGDT is a set of highly accessible tools for the Unity Game engine that takes a collage-based approach to building interactive 3D worlds. The toolkit is designed for artists, activists, researchers, students and community members who have little to no prior experience in game design, including coding or 3D modeling. No previous experience in game design is expected or required to create your submission for this issue.
Blanket Forts and Other Assemblages takes inspiration from the idea of the houseboat, campsite, terrarium, diorama and other varieties of constructed environments, either real or imagined, that facilitate new modalities of intimacy and collectivity. Using the CGDT, contributions will create small navigable 3D spaces consisting of photos, drawings, and 3D scans to create interactive environments that register a patchwork of audio-visual traces of contributors’ belongings, bodies, physical surroundings and material environments.
This special issue seeks to explore how collage-based world-building can allow for new poetic possibilities in hybrid embodied / disembodied storytelling. Practitioners from a wide range of contexts are encouraged to submit, including those living in, working in or exploring transitional, flexible and ad-hoc environments, and those working inside or outside of academia. We expect to explore and refine the issue theme in relation to submissions accepted for publication.
This issue is co-edited by Catalina Alvarez, Sue Huang, Daniel Lichtman (organizer) and Lee Tusman.
How to get started with your project
The toolkit is available for download on the CGDT website: https://danielp73.github.io/Community-Game-Development-Toolkit/. Tutorials that demonstrate how to work in the Unity environment, and how to use the toolkit are available to explore here. The website also provides background information, and documents example projects that have used the toolkit.
Optional workshops will be held on Wednesday, September 20 and Monday, October 2, 5-5:45pm to introduce the Community Game Development Toolkit and help you get started on your project. Please confirm these dates and time at https://tinyurl.com/blanket-forts and RSVP to [email protected] for a Zoom link.
Additionally, you are encouraged to reach out to Daniel Lichtman ([email protected]) for any support while you prepare your project.
Submission Guidelines
For submissions, please begin the process of creating your project in Unity using the toolkit. You do not need to build or publish your project. Submit a representative prototype of your project as a 1-2 minute screen recording. Make your submission as a Vimeo or YouTube link (strongly preferred) or as a MOV or MP4 file (H.264 compression). The editors will work with contributors selected for publication to finalize and export their projects as a web build for the special issue website.
Deadline
Thursday, October 12, 2023 11:59PM EST
Submission Link
Submit a link to a video here (strongly preferred - Google sign-in not required): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdkYDjH8lEW09cBag__dMjnfbYmKEF0B9IF5WpDHSoVpj4nuw/viewform?usp=sharing
Submit a video file here (if a link is not available – Google sign-in required):
Updated version of this open call: https://tinyurl.com/blanket-forts